MS Dhoni, the former India captain, who is heralded as one of the greatest cricketers of all time, celebrates his 43rd birthday on Sunday, July 7. In his illustrious career, which is still ongoing, the man who is fondly called “Thala” in the cricketing world, has enthralled fans all over the world on and off the field with his unique skills, calm demeanour, ability to inspire others, and never lose belief in the cause until the end.
In this article, SportsTiger looks at seven of the biggest achievements in the cricket career of MS Dhoni.
Joint-highest IPL-winning captain
In the Indian Premier League (IPL), MS Dhoni captained Chennai Super Kings to five IPL titles, which is equal to Rohit Sharma’s championship wins as the leader of Mumbai Indians. During the IPL 2024, MS Dhoni transferred the captaincy of CSK to Ruturaj Gaikwad and played the role of guiding the young captain, albeit they weren’t able to make the playoffs at the last hurdle.
Highest individual score as wicket-keeper in ODIs
During the early stage of his career, MS Dhoni made a name for himself at the Sawai Mansingh Stadium in Jaipur in 2005, at the expense of Sri Lanka. He smashed 183 unbeaten off 145 balls with 15 fours and 10 maximums, to help India achieve a win while chasing a target of 299 runs.
Most dismissals as wicket-keeper in ODI innings
In 2007, MS Dhoni took five catches and did one stumping for India against England in an ODI in Leeds, Headingley, to play a key role in a win for the visitors. With that, he also joined a list of wicket-keepers to inflict six dismissals in an ODI innings, which includes names like Adam Gilchrist, Mark Boucher, Jos Buttler, and Sarfaraz Khan among others.
Fewest ducks in T20I career
MS Dhoni batted 85 times in his T20I career for India, but he lost his wicket only once without troubling the scorers. Therefore, he is on top of the list of the fewest ducks in a T20I career for a batter, keeping the likes of Angelo Mathews, Max O’Dowd, Matthew Wade, and Hamilton Masakadza behind him.
Most stumpings in international cricket
MS Dhoni registered 195 stumpings in 538 matches for India in all formats of the game, which is the highest number among all the wicket-keepers worldwide. He kept players like Kumar Sangakkara, Ramesh Kaluwitharana, Mushfiqur Rahim, Moin Khan, and Adam Gilchrist behind in the all-time list.
Most matches as captain
During his 16-year international career, MS Dhoni captained India 332 times in Tests, ODIs, and T20Is, which is the most matches among all the captains worldwide. He went on to win 178 of those matches, while Ricky Ponting, who led Australia in 324 matches, took them over the finishing line on 220 occasions.
Only captain to win three different ICC limited-overs tournaments
The crowning achievement in the cricket career of MS Dhoni is the three different ICC limited-overs trophies, which he won as the captain of India. In 2007, he led India to their maiden T20 World Cup title, and four years later, the ODI World Cup trophy returned home after a long time, while the Champions Trophy triumph came in 2013.